


The Children of The Night

by deathoflove (sensesonfire)



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:00:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26605615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sensesonfire/pseuds/deathoflove
Summary: Connor thought college would be a bland and boring experience, not worse than high school was, but not that amazing either.That radically changes when one day he's making his way to his car, and he spots Evan Hansen. Following someone. Or rather, something.From there, it's just a tale of new beginnings, friendships, figuring out what's wrong with the town, solving mysteries and dealing with supernatural creatures that totally shouldn't exist.So much for thinking college would be monotonous.
Relationships: Evan Hansen & Connor Murphy, Evan Hansen/Connor Murphy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Feeding Everyone Lies — Part I

**Author's Note:**

> These notes will be sort of long, but it's important that you read them. I won't be making an essay on them from now on, I promise.
> 
> \- First, I don't know how often I'll update this. It's just some sort of self-indulgent project for me to not get crazy with classes.  
> \- Second, I don't live in the US, so any inconsistencies with the academic system, tell me (I will refrain from mentioning too much of it for this exact reason though).  
> \- Third, I'm not beta reading this, just scanning for misspells and stuff, so any inconsistencies on that too, tell me.  
> \- Fourth, sorry if the characters seem OOC. I really don't like the way they portray Evan's social anxiety in the musical because it looks too much like a stereotype (and as someone with social anxiety it bothers me), so he will be slightly different. Not to the point of being unrecognizable, but different. Same goes for Connor.
> 
> Other tags will be added later on, and I'll be putting trigger warnings whenever necessary. But this is a horror-esque fic, so expect weird things from now on. For now, it will be rated T for language, but I may rate it up as the story progresses.
> 
> The title of the fic is taken from We Only Come Out At Night by Motionless in White. The title of this chapter is also taken from a song of the same band, Immaculate Misconception. The songs don't have anything related to the fic, though, but if you want to listen to them, go ahead!
> 
> I think this is all for now. Sorry for taking your time and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> (Trigger warnings: brief mention of past drug abuse, description of uncanny creatures, hinted mention of "cannibalism").

Connor was tired. Already. Right at the beginning of the second semester. He should’ve listened when his mom said he could take a longer break at home. _Ha_. Who was he kidding? He’d go nuts if he stayed even a second longer in that house. With all of Zoe’s preparations to start her freshman year far away from their parents, everything was in chaos – especially Cynthia with her gradual empty nest syndrome rising.

He knew he should be glad that they were at least leaving him alone for the moment. It was enough of a fuss when they refused to let him study in another state, instead preferring to let him rent an apartment near the college they had in town. Sure, their program was great, and it wasn’t like Connor knew what he wanted to do anyway, so at least he had privacy and was away from his parents. Well, not at all, since he had to pay them a weekly visit due to Cynthia’s insistence, but. Better than living with them nonetheless.

The thing is, he expected college to be boring, but not _that_ boring. He didn’t meet any new people during the first semester and he doesn’t expect to make friends during the second. Hell, Connor expects to never make any through all of college, honestly. And it’s way better this way, even though the questions he receives from Cynthia are so annoying. He can manage, it was the same during high school and at least now he’s as far away from them as he could.

It helped matters that Connor keeps his mental health in check these days. Larry wasn’t one to throw tantrums if Connor refused to tell him things, but Cynthia was, so having the excuse of therapy helped to keep her nose out of his business.

Still, the point still stands: college is, so far, bland and monotonous. It’s an improvement from high school, sure, but a bit of a letdown at the same time.

Connor walked to his car, because even though he lived near, it wasn’t _that_ close – he wouldn’t walk three miles every single day. It was torture. The classes of the day sucked every ounce of energy he had, which wasn’t much, and he just wanted to go home.

That is, until he spotted a familiar face in the parking lot. And when he says familiar, it’s high school familiar. It’s since kindergarten familiar. Connor arched one of his eyebrows in curiosity.

He watched as Evan Hansen walked around, at first seeming aimlessly, but then when Connor focused he noticed Evan is actually sort of measuring his every step, like he doesn’t want to be seen, ducking behind cars whenever he thinks he’s going to be caught. Connor furrows his forehead at that. What is Hansen doing?

He looked around, trying to figure out what’s spooking Hansen so much, when he sees someone.

No. Not some _one_. Some _thing_.

It resembles a person, however—a person’s limbs don’t look that sharp; they definitely shouldn’t. And the way it moves is weird, like it’s trying to dance, moving around its salient hips around and kind of _waving_ through the cars.

Connor doesn’t know what the fuck he’s seeing. If he weren’t clean since the beginning of freshman year, he’d no doubt blame it on being high. But as far as he knew, he’s sober.

Making quick decisions was never one of Connor’s best traits, so he impulsively ducks and crawls towards where Hansen is hidden against a minivan. He gets close enough, still keeping an eye on the thing moving around the parking lot, and then he suddenly doesn’t know what to do. He didn’t think this far.

He decides, then, to hiss out, “what the fuck you’re doing?”

And it’s a mistake. Hansen almost leaps in the air – at least he doesn’t scream – and he looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Well, Connor can’t blame him, he seemed suspicious as fuck and it looked like he was stalking someone. So yes, Connor definitely understands where his reaction is coming from.

He couldn’t help but snort, though.

 _That_ seemed to get the thing’s attention, and both him and Hansen freeze in panic. They stared at each other with wide eyes and held their breaths. Connor’s heart was pounding in his ears, he could see from the mirror of the minivan that the thing was… shifting, contorting its body and coming their way to check out what the sound was.

Connor liked to think that in a horror movie situation he would survive, but seems like that isn’t going to be the case. He’s so in shock he doesn’t even register when Hansen’s hand tugs at the sleeve of Connor’s hoodie. He doesn’t stop to ask why Hansen looks so calm about all of this – and he just stops because Hansen’s face may look composed, but his hands are shaking so bad that Connor is afraid the guy is about to pass out.

Hansen points to a random direction that when Connor pays attention to isn’t that random. The jumble of cars makes some sort of intricate labyrinth that would make it easy for them to hide and lose the creature following them, they just needed to be careful and not make anything stupid. Connor nods and points towards his car, two vehicles away from their current spot. Hansen considers for a second, chances a glance to the thing and then purses his lip, nodding too.

They crouched-walked the way in silence, Hansen still clutching at Connor’s sleeve and he would shrug the guy off if he weren’t also freaking out about the situation. Connor kept looking behind him throughout all the small course they did out of alarm, all of his senses in high alert because of the adrenaline. He just stopped doing so when Hansen tapped his shoulder to warn that they had reached the car safely.

Connor dreaded the fact that the parking lot was empty, when it was never fucking empty at this time of the day. How much of it was just a coincidence? Which were the odds that they both were going to die? Connor fiddled with his car keys impatiently, swearing under his breath to not make any noise with them and he _knew_ Hansen was staring between him and the thing approaching them apprehensively.

He opened the back doors first because it would be easier to hide. He creaked it barely enough for Hansen to get inside and for that thing to not notice them, then he followed through and they were finally safe inside.

The both of them let out a sigh of relief. But Connor knew it wasn’t over. Not yet.

He had so many questions to ask Hansen, but he knew he couldn’t start voicing them out. They couldn’t afford to get caught. Connor noticed how bad Hansen was shaking, clutching at the backpack that Connor just noticed. A few seconds passed, then a minute, then two. Connor was about to speak up when he heard a screeching sound.

They gawked at each other as they listened to the thing probably scratching at some vehicle’s paint. They stayed put on the floor of Connor’s car, making themselves as small as possible in the cramped space they had.

Hansen was having trouble with his breathing. Connor wanted to do something to calm him down, but voices were coming from somewhere in the parking lot. Connor’s blood went cold.

He got slightly up to look outside, being careful to not be seen. And sure, there they were: two guys from his English class. He wasn’t the only one who’s seen them, the thing rapidly went their way.

Connor wanted to do something, wanted to yell at them to run, but he couldn’t jeopardize their hiding spot. He held his breath and watched as the creature approached them. But what happened next almost gave Connor whiplash.

The guys started to talk to that thing like they were friends. Sure, it appeared human, but from a closer view you could easily see the way its grey skin looked abnormal in the setting sun. How its yellow smile appeared crooked and its teeth had a weird color—of rotten meat.

Connor shuddered at the thought, especially after the three of them walked away to one of the guy’s cars. The thing tricked them into going with it. Shit.

“Winter’s ending, so it’s desperate to feed,” Hansen mumbled, his chin rested on his knees as he tried to get his breath under control. His eyes were closed.

Connor stared at him for a beat. Then, “how do you know about it?”

Hansen let out a nervous chuckle, looking at anywhere but Connor. “A girl from my class gave me a book. Don’t know why, she just did and I read some of it,” he started to rummage through his backpack, “at first I thought the things written on it was all fiction but then I started to notice more and more that…” he didn’t finish his sentence, instead thrusting the thing on Connor’s hands.

It looked like a grimoire of sorts. With a black leather cover and everything. No title, just a symbol at the center made of metal, it was some mythological animal that Connor didn’t recognize. In its mouth was a chain that circled the book. On the side, where you open the pages, there was a lock to it and the tiny key inside.

For a second, Connor thought Hansen was mocking him. But just one look at him proved otherwise, he didn’t know Hansen all that well, but he knew enough to be sure that he wouldn’t pull a prank like that on Connor. At least not one _that_ elaborate. He decided to not open the book and trust Hansen. To go with his gut.

“Right,” Connor nodded and threw the book back at Hansen, “and what do we do now?” he asked because it was the most sensible thing to do right now.

“What?” Hansen’s voice trembled as Connor got up and climbed to the front seat.

“I mean, we gotta do something ‘bout it, right?”

Hansen’s mouth opened and closed several times before he let out a snort. An _I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening_ snort. Connor could relate.

“Have you seen that thing?” he countered.

Connor shrugged while he put his keys in the ignition. “Sure. But you just gonna let those two die?”

That made him pause. He chewed his lips anxiously. Sighing, he also climbed to the front passenger’s seat.

“I— _We_ ’re not heroes, you know that?”

Connor nodded. “Yup,” he smirked at Hansen, “but aren’t you curious?”

He refused to answer, just staring at the vehicle that just left the lot. That was their cue to settle it then.

It was such an impulsive decision that Connor could hear a voice on the back of his head telling him it was a bad idea – and the voice sounded so much like Zoe’s it was scary –, but he didn’t have nothing better to do, anyway.

I mean. What could possibly go wrong?

_(“Everything!” Evan shrieked, because apparently Connor said that last part out loud._

_He rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Sorry for jinxing it or whatever.”_

_And to hunt a cryptid they went.)_


	2. Feeding Everyone Lies — Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happens the same day as the last chapter.
> 
> (Trigger warnings: death, mention of blood and wounds, mention of possible cannibalism, mention of past suicide attempt).

The drive up to the only bowling alley in the town was awkward. They didn’t talk to each other the whole way there and Connor could sense Hansen’s nerves prickling at his own skin. He wasn’t sure Hansen was this way because of him or because of the thing they’ve seen. Connor wouldn’t blame him if it was the former, he was pretty sure he pushed Hansen in the lockers in senior year.

Who was he kidding? He _knew_ it was Hansen whom he had pushed. Zoe made sure to remind him of that every day. So he could feel guilty and apologize. Well, Connor did feel guilty, especially after he realized Evan wasn’t laughing _at_ him. But he never apologized.

He was about to open his mouth to ask why Hansen decided to go to their town’s college when he let out a cackle. This surprised Connor, to the point he had to glance around their surroundings from where they parked behind the alley to see if something followed them. When Hansen chuckled, Connor arched an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Hansen trailed off, sighing and laughing again. He stared at Connor with mirth in his eyes. “We’re so stupid.”

Connor took a second to process what Hansen was on about. When he did, though, he couldn’t help the bubble of hysterical laughter that escaped him. They shared this moment for a while, until they lost their breaths, until Connor bumped his face against the steering wheel and the car honked.

That cracked them up even more.

They slowly ceased their outburst, Hansen was cleaning tears out of the corner of his eyes when Connor felt recomposed enough to talk again. He waited until Hansen let out a long breath and stared at him.

“Yeah, we’re pretty stupid,” he smirked when Hansen snorted and shook his head.

“You were the one who said you were curious.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

Connor tutted. “But you agreed.”

Hansen solemnly nodded. “That I did.”

This time, when silence settled, it wasn’t tense. At least not as before, it was rather pleasant if you ruled out the fact they were waiting for something that looked human but wasn’t to get out. And do what, was what Connor asked himself the whole way here.

“I’m still curious about how you got yourself into this mess,” Connor pondered out loud.

Hansen seemed to consider his response a little. “Same,” he almost giggled, “it’s just—this girl from my Science class, I don’t even remember her name anymore and I think she probably did something because I don’t remember her face either. She… sort of dropped the book on me, said I should keep it, that I’d put it to better use than her and left,” he shrugged, “don’t know what she meant by that, honestly. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

Connor was taken aback. Not by Hansen’s explanation, but by how much he talked without stuttering or turning a corner and getting the hell out. Granted, Connor has only seen him talking when it was about giving presentations to the whole class, so.

“When did she give you the book?” Connor asked.

“Before Christmas break,” his fingers played with the straps of his backpack as he stared at the back entrance. “I’ve been putting off of reading it since classes started again, but… I didn’t find her on Monday, so I decided I should check what’s inside,” he made a confused face, “I still don’t know what I just read, though.”

Connor couldn’t say he could relate, but he nodded nonetheless. He kind of understood where Evan was coming from. Everything about the situation was weird and creepy. He still couldn’t put his mind around it, what was happening and what he was doing. They didn’t even have a plan, for fucks sake.

“You said that thing was desperate ‘cause winter’s ending,” Connor pointed out, “you know what it is?”

Hansen rubbed his forehead nervously. “I kind of have a theory,” he tilted his head to the side, “I think it’s a wendigo.”

Connor furrowed his eyebrows. “Don’t these things live in Canada or some shit?”

Evan shook his head. “It’s not about the place. It’s about winter and what comes with it. At least, that’s what the book said,” he shrugged.

Connor couldn’t refute what he said. He didn’t read the book like Hansen did. So he just went with it.

He was up to more questions, but the back door of the bowling alley opened and they didn’t have a chance to say anything else. They almost dropped to the ground of the car again, just barely to see what was about to go on.

The guys from Connor’s class were there. Thrown against the creature—the _wendigo’s_ shoulder. Unconscious. One of them with a huge gash around their neck, oozing blood. He was probably dead by this point.

The creature seemed almost… satisfied. Its movement were more centered; it didn’t look like dancing or staggering anymore. It probably fed on the guy. Connor felt sick with the thought.

He looked to his side to see how Evan was managing, and he saw him with his phone on hand, taking pictures of the scene before them. His face was contorted with disgust and he looked like was going to throw up at any moment, but he kept snapping the photos for god knows what.

Connor was back on staring the creature. It dragged the guys with it further into the alley, to the point they couldn’t see it anymore. It was becoming too dark and it went too far away for them to see properly. Connor swallowed down a lump.

“What the fuck,” he muttered under his breath.

Hansen dropped his phone, looking pale. “Yeah. What the fuck indeed.”

* * *

They didn’t have a plan at all, that much was obvious from the start. And Connor was starting to think that trying to meddle with this situation was plainly stupid, even though he couldn’t stop now—he was too fucking curious to do so. He also knew Hansen was hooked too, so there was no way they were both backing out. That’s why Connor suggested they should go back to his apartment and strategize. It would be better than staying where the wendigo killed two guys and god knows who else.

Hansen wasn’t thrilled by the idea, but he didn’t have any other choice, so he agreed in the end. The drive to Connor’s apartment wasn’t as bad as the one to the bowling alley, however it could be drastically improved.

Connor lived on the second floor, and he liked to park his car outside instead of using the garage. He also liked to take the stairs instead of the lifts because he was that paranoid. It seemed like Hansen was glad that Connor also preferred the stairs.

He was about to put the key in the lock when Evan decided to say something.

“Why do you live on the second floor?”

Connor thought for a second. Then shrugged. “It’s closer to the garage and I can take the stairs easily,” was his honest answer.

Evan nodded like he’d make the same decision if it were him. Connor opened the door and let Hansen in first, closing it behind him after they were both inside.

“You don’t have a roommate?” Hansen asked as he looked around, taking in his surroundings and the impersonal space.

“I’d drive them crazy,” Connor snorted.

Evan smiled softly at him. The both of them went to the small living room jointed with a kitchenette of Connor’s house, Connor mumbled for Hansen to sit down wherever while he went to search for something to eat. Evan just nodded and sat on the couch.

Connor checked the fridge – as he expected, mostly empty except for the frozen pizza and nuggets. He needed to go do the groceries ASAP. Deciding that the frozen pizza was better than nothing, he put four slices in the microwave for him and Evan just in case he wanted to eat too.

As he waited for it to heat, he chanced a glance towards Hansen from the countertop. Hansen was staring at the book in his lap, now open, but he looked confused while he flipped the pages and shook his head several times like something was wrong. Connor arched an eyebrow.

Before he could ask, the microwave beeped, signaling the pizza was ready. Eating first, strategizing second.

Connor fetched the plates, almost burning off his fingers in the process, hissing the whole way to Evan with them in hand, leaving it at the small center table before it scalded his fingerprints off.

Dropping himself beside Evan in the couch, Connor thought for a second when did he start to refer to Hansen as Evan more often in his head. He chased it away when Evan practically shoved the book on Connor’s face.

“It’s all the same,” he said, like it made any fucking sense.

Connor stared at Evan like he lost his mind. “What?”

“The pages changed, now they’re all about the same thing!” his voice was an octave high with exasperation.

Connor made a face. “What?”

Evan groaned.

“There were pages in the book,” he started to explain calmly, pointing at some random page with a tall and dark figure with things about it written around it, “that talked about a bunch of creatures, but now,” he flipped it, pointing to a different one with a desperate expression of _‘see?!’_ on his face, but… it looked like the same thing. The words looked different, but when Connor stared longer, he could recognize it was just in a different language.

Realization hit him like a truck. “Don’t tell me it’s the same fuckin’ thing written in different languages.” The look Evan gave him already answered. “Shit,” he whispered.

Evan put the book on the table and sighed. “This is a mess,” he massaged his temples.

Connor picked one of the slices and offered him the other. “Since the beginning, but it’s a shared mess now at least,” and Evan chuckled as he accepted the pizza and started to slowly chew on it.

They ate in companionable silence, wondering what to do next about the situation. Connor, at least, was assessing which were the odds they ended up dead trying to figure out this whole thing. There was also the book, a probability of being unreliable at stake now. He was surprised he wasn’t freaking out about any of this yet. He was more surprised that _Evan_ wasn’t freaking out about any of it.

Once they finished their pizzas, Connor decided to ask: “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

Evan stared at him owlishly. “Huh?”

“I mean, this is freaky, right? So why aren’t you like, running for the hills or something?” Connor rested his cheek against the cushions as he stared at Evan, as he analyzed him.

Evan weighed down his options for a while, fiddling with his own fingers without looking at Connor in the eyes. Then he apparently decided on something and chuckled humorlessly. “It’s better than thinking of letting go of a branch, I guess.”

Connor’s eyes immediately widened.

He knew what Evan was talking about.

His broken arm in senior year.

He didn’t fall out of a tree.

_He let go._

This made Connor’s mind spiral to when he tried to take his mom’s pills. When Zoe found him before it was too late. The weeks absent from school spent in the hospital. His mother crying. The way Larry looked at him with pity and like he failed Connor somehow. Zoe’s shock. The gnawing sensation of failure.

 _Everything_.

The moment he was composed enough to look at Evan, he almost reeled back physically. Evan’s eyes spoke so many words unsaid it was strange, at the same time relieving. Because he knew what Connor didn’t say out loud, not exactly, but he recognized that this was something they sort of shared now.

Connor just nodded. “What do you think we should do now, then?”

Evan bit his lip and let out a puff of breath, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t know,” he closed his eyes, “I mean, we could go after that girl, but…” he trailed off.

“It’s better than nothing. We can try and hunt her down, demand answers and whatever she says, we either jump off this train wreck or we keep going,” Connor said. Like it was as simple as that.

Evan quickly agreed, though. “Sounds like a plan.”

_(Evan’s phone buzzed. The name read ‘Mom’ and Connor cringed._

_“She’s asking when I’m coming home, she’s worried,” he explained._

_“Do you want me to drop you off?” Connor offered, because sure, it was late outside and they both knew that there was more lurking in the dark than humans waiting for the perfect moment to rob you._

_“You won’t mind?” Evan asked, clearly anxious._

_Connor let himself smile. The smallest thing ever, but there._

_“I mean, you can ditch your mom and go after the wendigo thing by yourself to say hello.”_

_Evan’s laugh burst out and spread like a contagion.)_


	3. Feeding Everyone Lies — Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read. Please tell me if there's anything too horrible (as in, mistakes). Also, if there's any other triggers I should put here, please tell me.
> 
> (Trigger warnings: death, mention of blood).

Connor parked right by Evan’s house. Because Evan texted him the address after they had agreed to search for the girl together. After they figured out they shared the same History class. And they exchanged numbers. And Connor told Evan he could drive him to school, that it would be no problem.

He rested his head against the steering wheel, letting out a breath. Things escalated so fast it was becoming tiring to keep track of whatever is going to happen next. Not that Connor can predict it, it’s just so many weird shit happening at the same time it’s difficult. If things weren’t sort of fun, he’d be regretting his harsh decisions by now. But he isn’t so it must be a good signal, right?

Connor couldn’t get around to convince himself of a proper response, Evan was knocking on the passenger’s seat window and his face looked redder than it should giving it was still winter. Connor opened the doors without trying to mask his face of utter confusion, when he heard someone shout from Evan’s house.

“One day you’ll have to let me meet him, Evan!” it was a woman’s voice. He got a brief glimpse of her grinning face before she went inside again.

Connor turned to Evan once he was in the car and properly tucked in the seatbelt. He sighed. “My mom,” he explained.

Connor nodded. It made sense. “She wants to meet me?”

Evan blushed more but didn’t answer. Connor accepted it as answer enough.

“So,” Connor tried again as he revved the engine and got into the only road of that neighborhood, “when will we hunt the witch?”

Evan shook his head and tried to suppress a smile. Connor could see it clearly from the corner of his eyes. “I have Calc. at two, so we can grab something quick to eat and find her during our three free hours,” Evan looked at him, “unless you have another class before that…?”

“Nope. Just History,” just like that Evan nodded and it was settled. Once History finished, they would run the hell out of that class and go after whoever was the girl that gave Evan the book. “By the way, did it change overnight or something?” Connor didn’t need to specify what he was talking about, Evan picked the book out of his pack and opened it.

“The same as when we last opened it yesterday,” he closed it again and started to chew on his lips anxiously, staring ahead like he was contemplating something. Connor stopped in a red light. “Should we give the pictures to the police?” Evan turned to face Connor this time.

Connor huffed. “And they’d do what with the evidence? Arrest that thing?”

Evan’s knuckles turned white from where he was gripping the book with too much force. “It’s just—the parents of one of them already reported that he’s missing,” he scratched the surface of the leather with his fingernails, “it was on the news and they’re theorizing it’s some kind of mass kidnap happening because he’s not the first one to disappear out of nowhere.”

Connor stared at Evan as he tried to calm himself down. He was panicking, but didn’t want it to bother Connor somehow. For whichever reason he didn’t know, however he could admit it concerned him a little. The light turned green and Connor decided it was better to pay attention to the road ahead.

“I don’t think it’ll be of any use, it’ll just put more people in danger,” Connor reasoned, “I mean, it’s not like _we_ can do something about it, but we’ll try to get the girl and ask her if there _is_ something we can do.”

There was a brief silence as Evan seemed to think very hard about what they were going to do. Then, “why are we even doing this?” he asked softly.

“What?” Connor’s face contorted with distraction because seems like driving and paying attention to Evan’s existential inner turmoil wasn’t a thing he could do. Go figure. Connor was never good at multitasking.

“I mean, why are we doing this together—why are we putting ourselves in danger instead of, I don’t know, pretending we didn’t see anything and letting it be?” Evan’s question wasn’t… unsound. It was actually a good point. And it was something Connor kept thinking over and over before he went to bed last night.

“Probably because near-death experiences make people do stupid shit, and when they share it with someone, they do stupid shit together,” Connor shrugged.

Evan chuckled. “You’re telling me it’s some sort of bond through shared trauma?”

Connor nodded sharply. “Yep,” he popped the ‘p’ so obnoxiously he cringed.

“That’s so…” Evan interrupted himself, scrunched up his nose, stifled a laugh.

And Connor smiled for a mile.

* * *

“You’ve seen her around?” Connor asked, already out of breath as he stopped for a minute.

Right after they finished the dreaded History class, Evan spotted the girl and ran without even bothering to warn Connor. They ran across campus and ended up in front of the old building of the unused library – the one that had too many old books and that no one wanted to check out because whatever they needed for researches was already on the internet.

Evan glanced around, shaking his head, stopping, then pointing towards somewhere. “There.”

Connor looked up and sure. There she was. Just a few feet away from them, staring like she was merely analyzing their behavior. Now is the time for him to wonder _how_ did Evan forget what she looked like. It was totally impossible to mistake her among a crowd – her black clothes, black makeup, pale skin, mismatched eyes and auburn hair made such a unique contrast that perplexed him. She resembled someone out of a goth horror movie from the eighties.

At the same time, when Connor dared to glance at Evan, he automatically forgot what she looked like. Then he gawked at her in disbelief. She grinned.

“So you found me,” she said as she approached them. Her voice sounded… cold. Distant. Lacking any kind of emotion. It was creepy as fuck but comforting at the same time.

Evan narrowed his eyes at her. “Who are you?” his boldness shocked Connor to such a degree he was rendered speechless.

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. “I don’t think that’s the question you want to ask, Evan.”

Okay, the situation was definitely creepy as fuck. Not a single comforting thing about it.

Connor and Evan shared a look, then Connor sighed. “We want to talk about the book.”

She stared at him now, calculating and amused, “we?” her expression went blank, “there isn’t much information I can give you, though. Just that the book will provide you the answers you need, but not always,” she picked something from the back pocket of her jeans. A collection of keys jingled between her fingers. “These are for an archive room inside this library,” she pointed at the building beside them, “the book isn’t always reliable, so you will need to do your own research once in a while,” she threw the keys in Connor’s direction and he fetched it in the air, “the creature you are hunting isn’t fully formed. Yet. So be quick to kill it,” she waved emotionlessly and turned around to leave.

“Wait!” Connor shouted.

She stopped, glanced at them behind her shoulder. “You can call me Willow, by the way,” and just like that, she turned around the corner and disappeared.

They stood there. Dumbfounded.

“What the fuck just happened,” Connor said first.

Evan just shook his head. “No clue either. Let’s just…” he trailed off and walked towards the library.

Connor followed him due to lack of options. Evan pushed the door open and it creaked so loudly they both cringed at the sound. It was dark inside, there was a strong smell of mold and through the faint light of the sun created from the open door Connor could see the still dust floating around.

“Jesus, when did they last open this place?” Connor went inside, close to the walls to search for a switch.

Evan coughed on his hand and tried to take a look around, but the building seemed pitch-black and the only source of light came from outside. “Do you have a lantern?” he asked as he picked up his phone out of his pocket to turn its lantern on.

“Yeah, I’m just—trying to find the goddamn lights,” Connor flipped a switch he found, but to no avail. He groaned.

“None of them work, probably. Let’s just find the archives and pray there isn’t something living in here,” if Connor hadn’t seen Evan distractedly looking around what seemed to be the library’s front desk, he’d take him seriously.

Connor sighed and picked his phone to use its light too. “Let’s go then.”

They walked side by side for precautions. Not because they were afraid. Just because the place looked bigger than it appeared to be and better safe than sorry. Still, Connor illuminated the way while Evan pointed his lantern to different directions as if assessing the outlines of the area. Connor knew what was there already – a bunch of shelves filled with old, abandoned books.

Well, there were _shelves_ , but no books. Which was weird, though it made sense at the same time. It explained why no one went to this library. However, it also raised the question of why the faculty members didn’t bother to reform it and use for something else instead.

“Connor,” Evan called softly out of nowhere.

“Hm?” he answered, almost jumping out of his skin when Evan’s cold hand gripped his arm where the sleeves were rolled up.

Evan didn’t say anything. He just pointed at a direction with the light until it stopped at the beginning of a corridor. A shiver ran down Connor’s spine when he saw that. It looked darker than where they were, and he guessed it was a long one giving the fact they couldn’t see the end of it even with two lanterns pointing towards it.

Without hesitation, he started to walk towards the darkness with Evan in tow, still holding his arm like his life depended on it. Well, in a sense, it could be exactly that. Connor just hoped it wasn’t the case.

He tried flipping the switch at the main wall, but as expected, nothing happened. Connor huffed and didn’t say anything, guiding Evan with him through the cramped corridor.

The ground… made a strange noise. It was probably carpet, though there was this sound of rasping on it that Connor couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was. He didn’t have time to entertain these questions, for there was a door ahead. An old, decaying wooden door stood there with rusted chains and equally corroded lock maintaining it closed. It was slightly open, with just the chains keeping it sort of closed.

Evan’s fingers twitched on Connor’s arm. Connor didn’t even bother to use the keys – there were too many –, he just kicked the door open and the chains gave away, the lock snapping without much hassle.

Evan yelped. “What have you done!” he hissed, closer than he should be to Connor’s face.

Connor shrugged. “The keys wouldn’t work.”

He could faintly make out Evan’s unimpressed face from the corner of his eye. They decided it would be better to not start a fight in here and draw attention. Though Connor was pretty sure no one would come inside to look for invaders. Not when it was all tenebrous and there was no reason for _someone_ to be there.

The door made no sound when he kicked it again. He didn’t know if it was weirder than the entrance’s one that creaked or not. They didn’t have anything else to do, so they entered without a fuss. Evan was the one who spotted a switch this time, and Connor would tell him to not bother when he flipped it and yes.

The lights went on. It was dim and gave the room a gloomy atmosphere, but it was better than nothing. Connor could easily admit, however, that having energy just in this room was eerier than not.

“I think I’d prefer if it didn’t turn on,” Evan commented quietly.

Connor let out a nervous chuckle and turned off his phone, “better than working with lanterns in the dark, honestly.”

Evan stayed quiet and dropped his pack on the surface of a wooden table. Connor thought it was strange that the table was clean and didn’t have any dust on it, but the totality of the situation wasn’t the most normal in the world, so he just dropped his own bag on it too. Evan started to pick the book, being quick to open it and start reading.

“Do you think the books in here have any sort of info on their spines?” Evan wondered out loud as he flipped a page.

“I hope so,” Connor replied.

“It could help,” Evan agreed, “something with ‘how to kill a wendigo’ written on it _would_ be helpful,” he laughed mirthlessly as his eyes scanned for stuff in the book.

Connor couldn’t provide anything better, so he just went around the small room and went for the shelves with tons of books and archived documents in alphabetical order. He decided to go for the letter ‘W’ for obvious reasons and started searching.

“How long have you been stalking that thing, by the way?” Connor asked absentmindedly, reading the spines with rapid attention.

“I wasn’t stalking it, I was just…” Evan huffed and flipped a page, “I thought I was losing my mind, honestly,” he looked up briefly, then went back to the book, shaking his head, “it stayed there the whole day, you know. Even if it didn’t have any classes to go, it stayed in the cafeteria. I thought it was so weird that I had to _know_ ,” he put the book down on the table, open, “and then I started to see it more clearly,” his fingers scratched where a drawing of the creature was, “see the forest for the trees,” he snorted at his own joke.

Connor pulled two books out. “I think you’re crazy to stalk something you don’t even know alone, but I can’t blame you. I’m curious too,” he went to where Evan was and dropped the books on the table. “Read the first page, there’s lots of info about that thing,” he pointed to the one titled _Where Do Cannibalistic Creatures Live?_ , “this one probably explains how to kill it, I’ve read something to do with fire at random,” he pointed to the other book, its title faded to _Wendigo Research:_ but didn’t go on.

Evan nodded. “Thanks,” he picked _Wendigo Research:_ and opened it, “do you really think we’ll be able to kill it?”

“I mean, we’ll have to try,” Connor shrugged, hopping on the table to sit on it.

“Oh, here,” Evan shows a page to Connor, “it says that you can kill it by decapitating or putting it on fire,” he retrieved the page back to himself, “something about its skin being sensitive to the flames.”

“Convenient, huh?”

“Not so much,” Evan quipped back, “considering that we can’t decapitate it without getting killed…” he stopped, “it says here that if it’s young it should be easier to kill since it’s more vulnerable because it’s still mostly human,” Evan started to drift, too focused on what he was reading, muttering under his breath about a bunch of things Connor couldn’t hear.

Connor smirked. “What time is it?”

Evan flinched and frantically searched for his phone. His eyes almost bulged out of his skull when he saw the hour. “I’ll be late,” he mumbled, pocketing his phone and shoving the book he was holding on Connor’s arms. “Will you stay here?”

Connor looked around. “Yeah, why?”

“Keep reading this, then. It’s in the right direction. And call or text me if you need anything, or… if you’re attacked or something,” Evan seemed worried, so Connor nodded sharply. “Good. I’ll see you later?” he asked, unsure, while he gathered his things.

“See you,” Connor complied.

Evan smiled, small, then set off.

Connor didn’t even bother to tell him it was a bad idea to run around in the dark. Evan didn’t even give him a chance to speak again, anyway. He sighs, suddenly tired. He opens the book and starts reading, because what else can he do.

After almost reading the whole thing, Connor’s mind was spinning, trying to connect the dots and to come up with something useful. With a plan of sorts. He gathered his stuff and threw the books inside his bag – he knew no one would complain that he was borrowing them. He noticed, also, that Evan forgot the book. That needed some kind of moniker now that they would have to deal with tons of them.

Huh. _If_ they have. This can be a one-time thing, after all.

As he started to leave, he noticed it was night already. He texted Evan.

_I think I have a plan._

* * *

“I still don’t get it,” Evan threw his hands up in the air as if in defeat, “why do we need to do this?”

Connor tapped his fingers against the steering wheel of his car. “Are you worried you’ll miss classes?”

“I don’t have any today,” Evan muttered.

Connor nodded. He had classes. Three of them to be exact. But he was skipping since there were more pressing matters at hand.

“So we’ll do it today. It _has_ to be today, or it’s gonna make more victims,” Connor reasoned, not paying attention to Evan as he watched the wendigo leave the parking lot with another victim.

“Still, it’s too little time,” Evan tried to argue while Connor revved the engine to follow the car the wendigo went in. “We can’t break in into its— _lair_ without getting noticed.”

“Yeah, that’s why we’ll do it tomorrow,” Connor shrugged.

“You know it can all go very wrong, right?” Evan deadpanned. Connor could see his blank stare from the corner of his eye. He wanted to flip Evan off, but he was busy gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white.

“Yeah,” he answered drily, “I’m aware.”

Evan didn’t bother to reply, just shook his head and started to pay attention to his surroundings. Connor exhaled in relief – at least Evan was going along with it instead of fighting even more. He didn’t know what he would do if he had to do all of this alone, without an extra pair of eyes to keep track of things.

The strangest thing, though, was how in sync they seemed to be to do all of this. When Connor told Evan his plan through his message, Evan was skeptical at first, but he warmed up to it after a while since they didn’t have anything better to do or much time to plan a better thing for that matter. And then they kept an eye on the wendigo through the whole day, and Evan was right about it never leaving the cafeteria when it didn’t have classes.

It was too easy. _Way_ too easy. It didn’t calm Connor’s nerves in the slightest. At least Evan was there, not a nervous wreck as Connor expected him to be – which was good, honestly –, but healthily worried. Connor was too, of course, but what else could they do? Pretend all of this wasn’t happening?

Well. They totally could.

Connor briefly looked at Evan, who stared right back. They both cut off the eye contact to zero in the car in front of them. Sure. Connor almost scoffed. They were far too deep in now. No going backs.

It all went as the first day they followed the wendigo – the bowling alley. Why it chose this place out of all the others they would have to figure out later.

Connor parked his car and waited.

“What if it sees us?” Evan asked, head rested on the car’s seat.

Connor considered his question for a bit. “Good point,” he snapped his fingers as if realizing something.

Evan stared at him, panic etched on his face. “You… didn’t plan this far?”

“Nope,” Connor nodded sarcastically.

Evan let out a huff. “Great.” He crossed his arms against his chest. Connor, for some reason, wanted to laugh. He didn’t. Evan would just become more upset.

They kept hidden until the thing left the back door with its victim, sauntering towards the darkness of the alley. Connor stopped for a beat, sighed as he picked a baseball bat from the backseat and thrust it into Evan’s hand. Evan’s eyes widened.

“Honestly,” he started, “I’ve made so many contingency plans it’s scary, but I know none of them are going to work in this kind of situation,” and he didn’t wait for Evan’s reply, he opened his side of the car and left.

He started to walk towards the direction the wendigo went, with Evan right behind him, gripping the bat as if his life depended on it. Connor bit down his smirk.

“Shut up,” Evan hissed.

Connor threw his hands up in the air slightly in defeat, but didn’t further add to the issue.

They stalked the wendigo silently, as it dragged the unconscious victim towards its goal. To get _eaten_. With everything Connor has read about those things, he was surprised the girl it caught didn’t have any major injuries, just minor scratches on her arms and face. Since the thing was still young, it still didn’t develop the sadistic tendencies, probably.

He started to wonder how the person before the wendigo, the person that _became_ the wendigo ended up like that. There was a thought on the back of his mind, a nasty one that whispered that it turned into a monster because it _wanted_ to. It was a choice. Not a mere accident.

Connor felt fingers wrapping around his wrist and he flinched. Evan’s expression turned alarmed while Connor relaxed. Connor mouthed ‘what?’ and Evan pointed to their front.

There was a house. Actually, it couldn’t even be called a house. It was small, cramped, badly constructed with wood all over the place. It didn’t even have windows, just a door that was now open, yet they couldn’t see anything from inside – there were no lights there.

Connor took a step forward while Evan tried to push him back. Connor just shrugged him off and went further in, until he was mere centimeters from the wendigo’s lair. He didn’t know what he wanted to achieve, what he wanted to see. There was nothing, really, not even the damn monster.

Evan was whispering something to Connor desperately, but he wasn’t paying attention. He was trying to get a look from the insides, too wrapped up on the mystery of whatever he was trying to get at that he didn’t notice.

The wendigo was coming from behind its house.

Connor instantly froze on the spot. He could hear Evan holding in his breath from behind him. They couldn’t move. They wouldn’t even dare to do shit. Connor knew it. He could feel his blood pumping on his veins, his head throbbing with adrenaline.

He could flee. Take Evan and run. Could that thing outrun them? It probably could.

The seconds were ticking by. Time was slipping away. Could they fight it? Would it even be worth a try? It was stupid, wasn’t it? It could easily rip their throats off in a blink.

His heart was pounding. He could hear it. He started to wonder if the wendigo could hear it too.

A nasty smell of blood started to waft Connor’s senses. The wendigo’s mouth was dripping with its last victim’s insides, there were chugs of meat on its lips. However, it wasn’t paying attention to him and Evan. It was distracted. Smelling the air around it.

Connor held his breath. There was a scream from behind the house. The wendigo ran towards it almost… happily.

Instantly, Connor regained his capacity of moving his legs and he ran, grabbing Evan’s arm along the way and going for his car as silently as they could. It was a short walk from where they parked, but it seemed to last a fucking eternity to reach the damn car.

Once inside, Evan almost wheezed his lungs out.

“Let’s never do that again,” Connor mumbled as he started the engine.

Evan just grimaced in response.

As Connor drove away, a good distance from the bowling alley, he could see from his rearview mirror a figure standing in the middle of the street.

The wendigo knew they were there.

Connor looked in Evan’s direction. They have both seen it. Connor exhaled, snorting out a sound so harsh he cringed.

Now they really had to kill that thing as soon as possible.

_(“Seems like almost dying is a new M.O. now,” Connor commented without any humor._

_Evan didn’t bother to answer, he just grunted his agreement. Or disagreement._

_Connor felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards. This was sort of fun in its own fucked up way.)_


End file.
